Everybody Believes Belle
by LuxKen27
Summary: Last Blast teens cohort, pre-canon: 8-year-old Belle Black volunteers to take the mandatory flu shot in front of her third grade class to prove to the others that there's nothing to be afraid of.


Title: Everybody Believes Belle

Author: LuxKen27

Fandom: _Days of Our Lives_

Universe: Pre-canon

Genre: Friendship

Rating: K+

Word Count: 2,015

Summary: Last Blast teens cohort, pre-canon: 8-year-old Belle Black volunteers to take the mandatory flu shot in front of her third grade class to prove to the others that there's nothing to be afraid of.

 _Author's note:_ When Belle falls into a coma after her accident with Brady on the train tracks, Shawn comforts Marlena by relaying a story to her to demonstrate Belle's strength of will and determination: _"She was strong then, and she's strong now. If anybody can pull through this, it's Belle."_ This is my take on that little anecdote.

DISCLAIMER: The _Days of Our Lives_ concept, storyline, and characters are © 1965-present Ken Corday/Columbia Pictures Television/Columbia TriStar Television/Sony Pictures Television/NBC. No money is being made from the creation of this content. No copyright infringement is intended.

.xxxxx.

Belle's expression was solemn as she gazed up at the large sign that had been posted outside the Salem Elementary School gym. _MANDATORY INNOCULATIONS TODAY_ , it read, in intimidating red letters. She knew what those words meant – not only because she was pretty smart for a third-grader, but because her mother was a doctor at University Hospital. Flu season had been especially bad this year; a kid from the high school had actually _died_ from it. The city council had wasted no time in issuing an ordinance that required everyone under the age of 18 to receive the flu shot, in hopes of slowing the spread.

Belle clasped the straps of her backpack, worrying her lower lip as she stared at the sign. She hated getting shots – absolutely _hated_ it. The last time she'd had one at the doctor's office, she'd clasped her mother's hand so hard that it had turned white.

But her mother wasn't going to be there at school with her. And the school nurse was not exactly known for her gentle bedside manner.

Belle was so lost in thought that she didn't realize she had company until it practically landed on top of her.

"What's up, Belle?" Mimi asked brightly, skidding to a stop at her side. She glanced up at the poster before turning back to her best friend. "You look mad."

Belle shook her head. "I'm not mad," she assured Mimi, "I'm just…" She gestured at the sign, unsure of how to put her apprehension into words.

"Just what?" called out a new voice.

Belle and Mimi turned just as Shawn-Douglas and Philip exited the gym. Both had towels draped around their necks, and Shawn-D had a basketball lodged under his arm. Belle offered the two a smile, but only Philip responded in kind. Shawn-D's expression never changed; he simply wiped his face with one end of his towel.

"What's happening, ladies?" Philip drawled as he strolled over to join them, Shawn-D trailing in his wake.

Belle's smile turned cheeky. Blond-haired, blue-eyed Philip already fancied himself quite the ladies' man; a natural-born flirt, he never wasted an opportunity to try out his smooth talk on his friends. Whereas every other boy in their class ran screaming in the opposite direction whenever one of the girls chased them down and kissed them on the playground, Philip basked in the glow of feminine attention.

She sensed Mimi fidgeting beside her; one glance confirmed that the tips of her friend's ears were burning pink when Philip flashed his killer smile at her.

She didn't hear Mimi's response, more interested in Shawn-D's dour appearance. He couldn't have been more different from Philip if he tried; with his dark hair and dark eyes, his features were practically built to carry a brooding expression. Belle knew that he had a nice smile, though, and she wished that he'd share it more often.

"Why so glum, chum?" she asked lightly, rocking back on her heels.

"Oh, he's just mad because I beat him – again," Philip answered, miming a perfectly-executed layup. "Face it, Brady, basketball is _not_ your game."

Shawn-D just glowered at him, not bothering to respond to Belle's question.

"So, Belle," Philip said, turning back to his friend, "what are _you_ so upset about?" He glanced up at the sign, and gave a half-hearted shrug. "What's this all about?"

"I have no idea," Mimi put in, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "but it's certainly brought Belle down."

Philip looked up at the sign again, furrowing his brow. "What, does it mean we have to take some sort of test or something?"

"Can't you read?" Shawn-D suddenly said, shoving the basketball into Philip's midsection. He pointed at the sign as Philip doubled over, trying to catch his breath. "It says we're all gonna be getting flu shots today."

"Flu shots?!" Mimi shrieked, grabbing Belle's arm. "Is that true?"

Belle nodded, unable to hide her surprise that someone else understood what the sign meant. Her mother had warned her that the signs had been purposefully written to keep the kids at school from freaking out and running away.

She looked over at Shawn-D, who was staring up at the sign with a hard, unfazed expression; her curiosity piqued.

"Forget that," Philip spat, bouncing the basketball between his hands with increasing force. "Nobody's gonna give _me_ a shot!"

"You don't have a choice," Belle informed him. "It's mandatory – required."

Mimi clutched Belle's arm in a death grip, tears already streaming down her face. "Surely they need our parents' permission or something, right? _Right_?!" she repeated, turning pleading eyes up at her best friend.

Belle didn't have the heart to tell her that it was their parents who'd pushed for the ordinance in the first place.

"Relax, Mimi," Shawn-D said, silencing her hysterics with a single, spearing look. "It's not a big deal."

"Oh no?" Philip challenged, tossing the ball at him. "So, are we gonna see you at the head of the line, Tough Boy?"

Shawn-D caught it in one smooth motion. "I'll be right behind you, Kiriakis," he promised, sending the ball back with interest.

"Forget it," Philip sneered, bouncing the ball back at him and stalking off towards their classroom.

Belle saw Shawn-D's half smile as he caught the ball again, but the glimmer of amusement was quickly wiped away with another swipe of his towel. He noticed that she was looking at him even as she turned away, patting Mimi's shoulder as her friend continued to cry.

"What about you, Perfect Girl?" he teased with a smirk. "Are you gonna need me to hold your hand when you get your shot?"

Belle flushed angrily. "No," she replied crisply. "I'm perfectly capable of getting a shot by myself – I'm not a baby!"

"Geez, Belle, it was a joke," Shawn-D said, heaving an exaggerated sigh and rolling his eyes. "Like I'd ever hold your hand."

"Like I'd ever want you to," she shot back.

"Would you hold mine?" Mimi asked in a small voice, capturing her friends' attention once more.

Belle smiled and grabbed her friend's hand, giving it a supportive squeeze. "Of course I will," she assured her with a smile. "I'll help you through this. Don't worry, Mimi – you'll be fine."

Mimi sniffled, wiping away her tears. "Okay," she said. "I believe you."

"Of course you do," Shawn-D grumbled under his breath. "Everybody believes Belle."

Belle frowned. She didn't like his sarcastic tone, but she also didn't understand it. She knew that Shawn-D had been going through a lot lately, but his sullen attitude was really getting tiresome. She missed the friend he used to be, the one who'd defend her against bullies on the playground, who'd tease her about her hair, who offered to save her drowning Buddy Bear at the Horton family 4th of July picnic last year.

Well, she wasn't going to put up with it any more.

"C'mon, Mimi," she said with a resolute nod of her head, determined not to give Shawn-Douglas Brady one more ounce of her attention. "Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the better."

She led her friend away, tacitly ignoring the brooding boy who followed them to class.

.xxxxx.

The day was moving at an agonizingly slow pace. Word had spread about the mandatory flu shots, and trepidation filled the air as their third grade class proceeded through their morning activities. When lunch came and went without the dreaded visit from the school nurse, a couple of the kids started to relax and joke around, but Belle wasn't among them.

All she could think about was having that shot – and figuring out a way to get Mimi through it as well.

The class had only just started quiet time when the squeak of the nurse's rolling cart grew louder in the hall. Belle glanced at Shawn-D, seated on her right, before turning to Mimi, on her left, as the telltale noise came to a stop just outside at their classroom door.

Mimi grabbed her hand as the door to their room swung open.

The school nurse came in and huddled with their teacher for a moment. When the two of them faced the class, the room was so quiet they could've heard a pin drop.

"Now, class," their teacher began, "as you all know by now, the principal here at Salem Elementary has required that Nurse Casey come to all of the classrooms today to give out flu shots."

A couple of kids gasped; the boys in the back started to fidget in their desks.

"What if we don't want to?" one of the kids called out.

Their teacher offered a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Jan, but you all have to get a shot. The flu's been really bad this year, and we don't want any of you to catch it."

"What if we're allergic?" another kid asked.

"I've already reviewed all of your medical records," the nurse said in a prim, no-nonsense tone, "and none of you are allergic to the components of the vaccine." She gazed out at the terrified faces staring back at her, and her expression softened a bit. She stepped back, pulling the teacher's chair out from behind her desk and rolling it out to the front of the room.

"Do I have any volunteers, to show everybody that it's nothing to be afraid of?"

Philip shoved Shawn-D's shoulder. Shawn-D glanced over at Belle, catching her gaze even as she kept hold of Mimi's hand. Philip shoved him again, and then got a couple of other kids around him to do it, too. Despite his cool expression, however, Belle could tell that Shawn-D was reluctant to volunteer.

"I'll do it," she suddenly said, the words coming out before she could stop them.

Mimi gasped, clutching her hand even tighter. Philip gaped openly; Shawn-D just stared at her.

She blinked, tearing her gaze away from him and facing forward, offering the adults a tentative smile. "I don't mind," she added after a moment.

She disengaged herself from Mimi's grasp and stood up, swallowing hard as she made her way to the front of the room. She sat down in the teacher's chair, busying herself with rolling up her sleeve even as she felt the weight of thirty sets of eyes bearing down on her.

The nurse prepped her arm, the alcohol wipe leaving an eerily cold trail on her skin. "Ready?" the nurse asked.

Belle summoned her bravest smile. "Ready," she confirmed, her smile still in place as she turned to face her classmates.

She found Shawn-D almost immediately and narrowed her focus to him. He gazed steadily at her, his expression never changing, but she could see through his Tough Boy façade. The look in his eyes now was the old Shawn-D, the one with a sense of humor, with a ready smile, who cared about her and never tried to be mean.

Nevertheless, she needed some of his toughness now. She didn't have her mom's – or even Mimi's – hand to hold onto.

"There, now, that wasn't so bad," the nurse proclaimed, rubbing the alcohol wipe on Belle's arm again. "Was it, honey?"

"No," Belle said, surprise rushing through her. It was already over? She couldn't believe it!

She managed to collect herself, turning another bright smile up at the nurse. "It didn't hurt at all," she said happily as she tugged her sleeve back into place.

"Okay, then, class," the teacher said as Belle stood up. "Let's form an orderly line against the wall…"

Belle was still smiling as she walked back to her seat; she directed it first to Mimi, then to Philip, and then to Shawn-D, holding his gaze for a beat longer than the others. He smiled back as he stood, following the other kids to the line already forming on the opposite wall, and for one brief moment, Belle allowed herself to feel stupidly happy that her old friend had surfaced once again.

She could only hope that it wouldn't be the last time she saw the old familiar Shawn-D.


End file.
